Youth Has Its Day At Garden State

Nancy Jaffer/For The Star-LedgerMichael Hughes, 16, won the Garden State Grand Prix on MacArthur

The younger generation dominated the top placings at today's $35,000 Garden State Grand Prix, as 16-year-old Michael Hughes of Allendale continued his metoric rise by winning the competition on MacArthur at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta.

"I don't really know him that well in jump-offs yet, so I was just thinking I might as well practice going fast now, so that's what we did and it worked out," said Hughes.

"He's absolutely incredible. Christina Fried owns him and we're very thankful she lets me show him. He is just great; no matter what I do, he's always perfect."

Last year's Devon Grand Prix winner, Kevin Babington of Ireland, had to settle for second on Mark Q with a time of 58.34, while Hughes took a strong gallop to the final vertical of planks to end up in 56.54 seconds.

Babington noted he spotted Hughes' ability five years ago.

"He's fantastic. He's super-talented. I'm sure I'll be standing behind him a lot of times,'' said Babington, who is friendly with the youth's father, also a professional horseman from Ireland, Eamonn Hughes.

Babington was just ahead of another teen star, Mattias Tromp of New York, 17, who finished in 58.53 on Vosqinus, a Dutch import.

"We came here because this is just a good show to start the spring season," said Tromp.

Garden State, New Jersey's largest horse show, is presented by alumni of the Junior Essex Troop. Many return annually to help out with the competition. The show's feature drew 23 starters, nine of whom made it into the tiebreaker. The course, designed by Andrew Philbrick, was very long, with a time allowed of 105 seconds for the first round, making use of all parts of the big ring.

"They pushed the wheel. It's a different style course...the jump-off had a different flavor, end to end (of the ring),'' observed Mark Leone, ninth in on Great American.

Citing the 105-second time-allowed for the first round, which he compared to what it would take to do a jumping derby, he noted, "I watched an Olympic trial (observation event) last night at Del Mar (Calif.) and it was 75 seconds."

The grand prix was preceded by a $4,000 jumper stake limited to thoroughbreds, presented by the New Jersey thoroughbred industry and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. It's an attempt to find careers for this breed, whether they have raced or not. Once the favorite mount of U.S. jumper riders, they have been replaced in large part by warmbloods. Too many wind up at auctions or headed for slaughter.

First place went to Four's a Charm. The sleek bay, owned by Meghan Orr, wsa ridden by professional Kacey Rovere of Shamong.
Asked if the horse had been at the track, Rovere said, "He did race, not too much, and he wasn't very good at it, but he was fast over jumps."

She likes the concept of classes restricted to throughbreds.

"I think it's absolutely amazing they're doing this and trying to bring the thoroughbreds back into it," she commented.

JERSEY FRESH -- An amazing line-up of Olympic hopefuls is scheduled for this week's 10th Anniversary Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event at the Horse Park of New Jersey. As a selection trial for this summer's London Games, the 3-star-rated competition in Allentown has drawn the biggest American names in the sport.

Sinead Halpin of Pittstown, who did the test ride for dressage at last weekend's Rolex Kentucky 4-star event, will be running Manoir de Carneville, better known as Tate, before he ships to England.

Last year, she was the top American finisher at Rolex Kentucky, winding up third. This time, she said, "It was a little bit of an odd situation. It was hard to get into the 4-star vibe. It was all very laid back in the warm-up and then I went down the chute (to the arena) and it was, `Whoa, I'm at Rolex.'

"We made our way through the test and it was a good thing to do, but it certainly wasn't our best performance. The test didn't quite reflect the work that he's been doing, but to be put in that situation and not be quite as prepared as I would like to be and still work through one of the most difficult dressage tests out there, I can't be too disappointed," she said.

Explaining why she's going to Jersey Fresh, she noted, "I just need a run to keep him on form and keep myself on form. London will be here and gone before you know it. I hope I get to take part in it. I have a seriously awesome horse and I'm enjoying everything that comes along with being on that quest. I feel like I'll be ready for London when it gets here."

Those attending Jersey Fresh also will have the chance to see Philip Dutton's exciting new ride, Mystery Whisper, imported from Australia.
Dutton gave Rolex a miss with Mystery Whisper, explaining he has to be patient with his new mount, on whom he needs to achieve his Olympic qualification.

"He's a very exciting horse, but he's come all the way from the Southern Hemisphere. It takes awhile for horses to acclimate and adjust. I think the right thing for him, if he's going to get to the Olympics with me, is to give him a little easier run (than Rolex) and have him strong and fresh for the Olympics."

Dutton noted that Mystery Whisper already has done a 4-star with his previous rider, so "it's not like he has to prove he can jump the jumps. When you buy a horse, you're riding somebody else's horse. It takes awhile for the partnership to mesh."

Also competing is Neville Bardos, Boyd Martin's miracle ride, the thoroughbred who escaped both the slaughterhouse in Australia and a deadly fire last May in Pennsylvania, coming back in September to finish seventh in England at Burghley, one of the toughest 4-stars in the world.
Halpin, Dutton and Martin are the only three riders on the "A" high performance training list, and if all goes well at Jersey Fresh, the most likely to be Olympic team members.

Buck Davidson, who broke a collarbone last winter, will be back in action on Ballynoecastle RM, owned by Carl and Cassandra Segal of Tewksbury. Davidson, also considered a strong shot for the Games, rode two horses in the dressage at Rolex, but on the advice of his doctor, withdrew before cross-country to give his injury a little more time to heal. Other exciting combinations at Jersey Fresh include Pan American Games Olympic individual gold medalist Jessica Phoenix of Canada and Exponential.

Competition starts Thursday with dressage, which continues through Friday. Saturday is cross-country, beginning at 9 a.m., while Sunday's show jumping starts at 10 a.m.

ON THE RAIL -- A benefit is being held for Halpin May 18 at Bow Brickhill Stables, 476 Milford Mt. Pleasant Road, Milford. It's a pig roast with music; attire is casual: "Muck boots would be appropriate; we're eating a pig in a barn," the invitation states. The suggested donation is $50 for adults, $25 for children. RSVP by next Sunday to megkep@gmail.com. Tickets are $10 more at the door.

Halpin realizes she'll need money because of her Olympic bid, especially since being away for so long means she will lose quite a bit of income from not being able to teach and train horses at her farm.

"I did the Europe thing last year," said Halpin, who competed at Burghley, where she was 15th.

While the U.S. Equestrian Federation takes care of shipping her horse and housing from June 11 on, it doesn't pay for rental cars or food.

"I know the unforeseen expenses. I want to give Tate and myself the best preparation possible. To do that, I'm going to be in Europe for a while," she said.

"You want to focus on your job and not be concerned that you're not going to be able to pay for the rental car."

Rich Fellers, who last month became the first American to win the Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals in 25 years, took two "observation events" for potential Olympic team members with the reliable Flexible this weekend.

Fellers topped the $50,000 and $100,000 grands prix in De Mar, Calif. He and the Irishbred stallion are scheduled to participate in one more set of observation events next month at the Spruce Meadows show in Canada, but at this point, he's looking like a good bet to make the team for London. However, other high-ranking horse/rider combinations on the long list will be taking part in observation events this month in Kentucky and at the Devon, Pa., horse show this month and next.